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Lake-town
Lake-town, or Esgaroth (known fully as "Esgaroth upon the Long Lake"), was a small settlement of Men in the north-western part of the Long Lake in Rhovanion. The town was constructed entirely of wood and stands upon wooden pillars sunk into the bed of the Long Lake, south of the Lonely Mountain and east of Mirkwood. It seems that the town's prosperity was built on trade between the Men, Elves, and Dwarves of northern Middle-earth.The Atlas of Middle-earth, The Hobbit, "Lake-town" It was also known as the final resting place of the Dragon Smaug, whose bones ended up at the bottom of the lake, and by whom it was destroyed.The Atlas of Middle-earth, The Hobbit, "Lake-town" History Lake-town may have been separate settlements established on the same site, one predating Smaug's destruction of Dale and the Lonely Mountain in TA 2770The Lord of the Rings, Appendix B: The Tale of Years (Chronology of the Westlands), "The Third Age" and the other built afterwards. Uniquely, of all of the towns, settlements, fortresses, and cities of Middle-earth, Lake-town utilized water as its defense. The Long Lake was also surrounded by towering cliffs and high mountains, all helpful natural barriers that had the potential to aid its defenders in a siege (such as the Easterling invasion of the North in TA 3018). While these defenses slowed and diverted Lake-town's human enemies, it did nothing to prepare its inhabitants against Smaug. The villagers would be harassed on a regular basis by Smaug. Smaug would steal an occasional maiden or just burn down their homes. Lake-town was founded sometime during the Third Age and its inhabitants traded extensively with the Elves of Thranduil's Woodland Realm, the Dwarves of the Lonely Mountain and Iron Hills, and their kin in Dale and Dorwinion to the south. In trading with Mirkwood, wine barrels were sent floating down from Thranduil's caverns (the Wood-elves were copious wine-drinkers, as found in The Hobbit) along the Celduin to Lake-town. These barrels were quite large, for they could fit a Hobbit or Dwarf (even the extremely fat Bombur). This town is where Bilbo and the Dwarves travelled in their adventure to reclaim the Lonely Mountain. In the year TA 2941 of the Third Age the town was attacked by the dragon, but Bard the Bowman, who had indirectly learned of a weakness in Smaug's armor that had first been noticed by Bilbo, slew the dragon. Livid with fury, Smaug had winged his way to the town at night and promptly began to immolate its structures. Some inhabitants got away safely on boats, while many perished in the maelstrom of fire. A brave company of spearmen and archers attempted in vain to shoot down the dragon. It wasn't until Bard managed to kill Smaug that the destruction ended. Afterwards, Lake-town was rebuilt using some of the treasure that Smaug had stolen, though the town's Master ran off with some of the Gold. Part of the town's population followed Bard to resettle the Kingdom of Dale.The Hobbit As trading people, the Men of Lake-town knew the Common Speech, Westron. However, amongst themselves they spoke an ancient form of it, which was loosely related to but distinct from the also ancient language of the Rohirrim. Tolkien "translated" Westron into English in his text, so to represent its ancient relative that the Rohirrim spoke he substituted Old English. Thus, Tolkien substituted Old Norse for the language of the Men of Esgaroth (in person and place names, etc.). After Lake-town's near destruction by Smaug, its inhabitants rebuilt it with more splendor and grandeur, expanding it further down the lake. Portrayal in adaptations The Hobbit film trilogy In Peter Jackson's The Hobbit movie trilogy, the clear Eastern design and culture of Lake-town and its inhabitants (including, the military and political leaders) are primarily derived from medieval Russian influences - i.e., the early Rus' states of Kievan Rus' and its successors. Indeed, Lake-town is reminiscent of the old northern Rus' trading city of Novgorod - itself, like Lake-town, also situated on a lake. Also, as presented in the movies, per the complex nature of Russian ethno-cultural history, Lake-town itself and its people are also infused with Finnic, Baltic, and Turkic influences. In the movies, Peter Jackson clearly defines the culture of Lake-town and Dale as a part of the East. Gallery Translations References Category:Cities of Men Category:Rhovanion de:Esgaroth es:Esgaroth fr:Esgaroth it:Esgaroth nl:Esgaroth pl:Esgaroth pt-br:Esgaroth ru:Эсгарот